Recently Farm Director, KC Sheperd, had the chance to visit with Oklahoma State University associate professor of agricultural economics, Dr. Amy Hagerman, about the next Farm Bill.

“Wheat base, when you do your ARC and PLC over, for example, is at a much higher level than what our actual planted wheat acres are in the state,” Hagerman said.

Winter wheat acres have dropped by about 2 million acres, Hagerman said, when looking at base acres versus planted acres.

In the next Farm Bill, Hagerman said there have been some conversations about a base update.

“We are talking about the potential for a crop-based update, and what that looks like, whether it is voluntary, or mandatory, is all very much up in the air,” Hagerman said.

A reallocation of base in the state could have either positive impacts or negative, Hagerman said, depending on the producer.



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National Livestock CEO Robert York Talks Innovation in Cattle Industry and 1931 Legacy Ranch

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with the Chief Executive Officer of National Livestock, Robert York. This time, Hays and York talk about the future of the cattle industry when it comes to marketing.

National Livestock is based in Oklahoma City at the Oklahoma National Stockyards and consists of businesses spread out across the country focused on cattle. York and his team have the chance to interact with cattle producers across the country on a daily basis, including here in the Southern Plains.

“The industry has changed so much, and the cattle have changed so much,” York said.

Genetics have improved immensely, York said, and there are countless ways producers can differentiate themselves.

“You do have to approach it from a better-than-average standpoint if you want to consistently get the best prices,” York said.

Many generational producers have been aggressive with the adoption of programs for their cattle, York said, which has been exciting to watch because of the herd and genetic improvements that have followed.

2023 OKFB Annual Meeting at OKC Omni, November 10-12th

The meeting serves as the largest yearly gathering of Farm Bureau members in the state with general sessions, policy discussions, breakout sessions, awards, networking and fun with fellow farmers and ranchers.

The Omni Oklahoma City hotel will be the site for the 2023 annual meeting, offering Farm Bureau members a modern, convenient space to gather.

The Omni’s meeting space is located on a single floor, meaning OKFB members are a quick elevator ride away from their guest rooms to the event area. The Omni offers a variety of in-house dining options and is located in downtown Oklahoma City with numerous dining and entertainment choices within either walking distance or accessible with a quick street car ride.

Farm Bureau members will vote on the organization’s grassroots policy positions during the Saturday business sessions, considering resolutions submitted by county Farm Bureaus from around the state.

OKFB members will also elect fellow Farm Bureau members to lead the organization, including the election of the OKFB president. Districts 1, 4, and 7 will caucus to elect district directors, and both Women’s Leadership Committee and Young Farmers & Ranchers members will caucus to select leaders for the upcoming year. OKFB delegates will also vote on proposed changes to the organization’s bylaws, the text of which can be found in the Summer 2023 issue of Oklahoma Country magazine.

It has been dry the past couple of weeks in Oklahoma and farmers are looking for some rainfall in the forecast. State Climatologist Gary McManus says tropical storm Norma “MIGHT” be the answer for much-needed rainfall.

“When it comes to these tropical storm remnants, you’re in really dicey territory, especially coming from the southwest where there’s not a lot of flow," McManus said. "In this case, we have a large upper-level trough approaching from the west that looks like it will help catch the Norma and steer it towards the north/northeast, possibly right up our way. The resulting rain is finally showing up on the 7-day forecast.”

McManus says most of the rain from that system will actually wait and arrive on the 7th day.

When storms like this approach, according to McManus, many things can happen.

"Those remnants travel up our way, and with the approaching storm from the west, we should have good moisture return from the Gulf of Mexico with dewpoints quite high for this time of year," McManus said. "So a lot still has to happen between now and early next week, but we’re certainly due for some luck and rain.”

Southern Plains Perspective: You Say You Want a Revolution? Make it a Brown One

There is a new blog post out at the Southern Plains Perspective. Read below! The Southern Plains Perspective is authored by Clay Pope- who farms with his wife Sarah. 

We need a brown revolution.   

Most of us are familiar with the green revolution—the explosion of agriculture production that happened between the 1940’s and 1970’s, due largely to the work of Norman Borlaug and others who developed high-yield, hybrid seeds and helped expand irrigation infrastructure, chemical fertilizer use and mechanical agriculture throughout the developing world.

The time has come for another leap forward in agriculture—and a change in attitude when it comes to farming and ranching. Now is the time for a revolution that involves not bringing new inputs into the field but in taking care of what’s already there. It’s a revolution focusing not so much on the seed we put in the ground but on how we treat the ground itself—it’s time we focus on soil health. It’s time for the brown revolution.

OSU’s Rosslyn Biggs and Dana Zook: Open or Not?

On this edition of Cow-Calf Corner, Rosslyn Biggs, DVM, OSU Cooperative Extension State Extension Beef Cattle Veterinarian, and Dana Zook, OSU Cooperative Extension Northwest Area Livestock Specialist, talk about evaluating pregnancy status in cattle.

The three primary methods to evaluate pregnancy in cows include rectal palpation, reproductive tract ultrasound, and blood testing. In 2017, the USDA National Animal Health Monitoring System Beef Cow-Calf Study evaluated the number of operations that utilized pregnancy checking. Although percentages were higher as herd size increased, across all operations only 19.3% used palpation, 8.8% used ultrasound, and 3.5% used blood testing for pregnancy evaluation. Producers who choose not to evaluate pregnancy status undoubtedly leave money on the table below.

Historically, rectal palpation has been the industry standard and is currently the most common pregnancy testing method in the region. The reproductive tract and/or the fetal calf is manually palpated to determine pregnancy status, approximate age of the calf, and identify any physical issues that may exist in the reproductive tract or pelvis of the cow.